Air-Return Valve and Air-Return Container

The present invention belongs to the technical field of daily necessities, and specifically, the present invention relates to an air-return valve and an air-return container.

Whether at home or outside, containers for holding liquids often appear in people's daily lives, such as water cups. With respect to open water cups, bottles are well sealed, which can prevent accidental liquid leakage and are more popular with people. However, bottles sometimes might not be satisfactory when used. Firstly, thermal expansion and cold contraction will cause negative pressure in the bottle, which makes it difficult to open the cap; secondly, when used with straws, nipples, etc., as the liquid in the bottle decreases, negative pressure will also appear inside the bottle, which is inconvenient to drink. Especially in the second case, the disadvantages are more obvious when the bottle is used with a nipple (as a milk bottle).

When used as a milk bottle, in order to balance the negative pressure, an air-return valve is often provided at the nipple to feed air into the milk bottle when the negative pressure occurs. Although it can solve the negative pressure problem, it will also introduce new problems. When used by an infant, the infant is easy to inhale bubbles and flatulence, and when bubbles pass through the milk, the milk will also be oxidized, causing nutrient loss.

There are some technical solutions in the prior art that can solve the problems of negative pressure, flatulence, and milk oxidation. For example, in the patent application document with application number 201420577388.7, submitted on Sep. 30, 2014, and titled “a new type of anti-flatulence milk bottle”, an anti-flatulence milk bottle is disclosed. It includes a bottle body, a silicone return air bottom plug, a handle, a nipple sleeve, a nipple, and a nipple cover. The upper end of the bottle body is provided with the bottle mouth of a male thread, and the bottom of the bottle body is provided with the bottom plug mouth that communicates with the outside of the bottle body. The silicone return air bottom plug is located in the bottom plug mouth of the bottom of the bottle body and is tightly sealed. At center of the silicone return air bottom plug and in the longitudinal direction, a return air gap that penetrates the head of the silicone return air bottom plug is provided. The handle is screwed at the bottle mouth of bottle body through the handle sleeve ring in the middle of itself. The nipple sleeve is arranged on the handle sleeve ring of the handle, and the nipple is arranged on the nipple sleeve. The nipple cover covers the upper end of the nipple.

In the above technical solution, a silicone return air bottom plug is arranged on the bottle body, so that the negative pressure can be balanced and the problems of flatulence and milk oxidation can be solved, however, a new problem is also introduced. The liquid in the bottle body is prone to leakage at the silicone return air bottom plug, and the sealing of the bottle body at the silicone return air bottom plug is poor. At the same time, the silicone return air bottom plug still has the problem of being difficult to plug in when inserted, and it is hard to install in place during installation.

In order to solve at least partially above problems, the present invention provides an air-return valve and an air-return container, and its technical solution is as follows:

An air-return valve for mounting on a container is provided, and the air-return valve comprises: a valve body and an air path formed along an axial direction of the valve body; the valve body comprising a valve lip portion and a valve body portion; the valve lip portion is positioned above the valve body portion; the valve lip portion is a boss enclosed with a diaphragm and a wall thickness of the valve lip portion is less than that of the valve body portion; and the air path passes through the valve body portion; the valve lip portion is provided with an air gap connected to the air path; the air gap is closed when interior of the container is under a non-negative pressure and is opened when the interior of the container is under the negative pressure.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: a lower concave surface is provided on top surface of the valve body portion, and the valve lip portion is positioned on the lower concave surface.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the lower concave surface rises smoothly at periphery, until it reaches and connects with the top surface of the valve body portion.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the air gap is in a straight linear shape and is opened at top of the valve lip portion and is positioned on a symmetric plane of the valve lip portion.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the wall thickness of the top surface of the valve body portion decreases at the lower concave surface.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: a first edge is at the interface between the valve lip portion and the lower concave surface, and the first edge is in form of enclosed ring.

For the above mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the valve body portion includes a valve head and a valve neck, and the valve neck is positioned below the valve head; and the valve head is used to carry the valve lip portion, and the valve neck is used to fit into a mounting hole on a container wall; an outer contour area of the valve head is larger than that of the valve neck when projected along the axial direction of the valve body.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: a first rounded corner is provided at outer peripheral edge of top of the valve head.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: a support body is further included; the support body is in the form of cylindrical shape and is used to support the valve neck, and an axis of the support body coincides with that of the valve neck.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the support body is integrally formed with the valve body; the support body is made of plastic material or rubber material, and the valve body is made of rubber material.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the support body is wrapped inside the valve neck, an outer diameter of the support body is smaller than that of the valve neck, and an inner diameter of the support body is larger than diameter of the air path.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the support body is positioned in the air path, and its outer peripheral surface fits with the valve neck; the outer diameter of the support body is larger than diameter of an air inlet of the air path, and an inner diameter of the support body is not larger than the diameter of the air inlet of the air path.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the support body is positioned in the air path, and the support body is a thickened ring for increasing wall thickness of the valve neck; inner diameter of the support body is not larger than diameter of an air inlet of the air path.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the valve body further includes a valve disc, and the valve disc is positioned below the valve neck; an outer contour area of the valve disc is larger than that of the valve neck when projected along the axial direction of the valve body.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: a bottom surface of the valve disc is an arc-shaped surface, in which edge height is higher than center height.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: a top surface of the valve disc is an arc-shaped surface, in which edge height is higher than center height.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: at an interface of the valve neck and the valve head, the valve neck is provided with a second rounded corner, and the second rounded corner is used to be fitted with an inner edge of a mounting hole on a container wall.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: at an interface of the valve neck and the valve disc, the valve neck is provided with a third rounded corner, and the third rounded corner is used to be fitted with an outer edge of a mounting hole on a container wall.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: a periphery of bottom surface of the valve disc is provided with a fourth rounded corner.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: a periphery of top surface of the valve disc is provided with a second edge.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the valve body portion and the valve lip portion are both cylinders; when projected along the axial direction of the valve body, an outer contour of the valve body portion is circular, and an outer contour of the valve lip portion is in form of oblong.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: the valve lip portion is positioned on a symmetric plane of the valve body portion; and the air gap is positioned on a symmetric plane of the valve lip portion along the length direction.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: an outer contour of the valve lip portion gradually decreases along the direction from the valve body portion to the valve lip portion.

For the above-mentioned air-return valve, it is further preferred that: an wall thickness of the valve lip portion gradually decreases along the direction from the valve body portion to the valve lip portion.

An air-return container comprises a container body and the air-return valve; a mounting hole is provided on the container body, and the air-return valve is interference-fitted with the mounting hole.

For the above-mentioned air-return container, it is further preferred that: the mounting hole is positioned at bottom of the container body, and the bottom of the container body is provided with an inwardly concave surface; an outer contour area of the valve disc of the air-return valve is smaller than an area of the inwardly concave surface of the container body.

It is noted that, compared with the prior art, the advantages and beneficial effects of the present invention are following:

With respect to the return valve of the present invention, when returning air, the external gas enters into the container after the air gap is opened by the external gas which pass through the air path. When not returning air, the air gap is at a closed state, with function of unidirectional guide and communication. The valve lip portion is a boss enclosed with the diaphragm, and is raised above the valve body portion and subjected to the concentrated pressure, which can ensure the reliability of the seal and prevent the liquid leakage from the air gap. The wall thickness of the valve lip portion is smaller than that of the valve body portion, so that the action of the valve lip portion is sensitive and reliable when returning air and sealing.

With respect to the return container of the present invention, the air-return valve is interference-fitted with the mounting hole, which enables returning air into the air-return container to compensate for the negative pressure in the air-return container, so as to facilitate the user to ingest the liquid in the air-return container. The air-return valve is mounted at the mounting hole, which functions as unidirectional guide and communication, which can not only compensate for the negative pressure in the air-return container, but also prevent the liquid in the air-return container from leakage. In addition, when the air-return container is used as a milk bottle, the air-return valve communicates with the air in the air-return container when compensating for the negative pressure in the air-return container. The air entering into the air-return container through the air-return valve would not pass through the milk. This can not only prevent the infant from flatulence due to inhalation of bubbles in the milk when feeding, but also prevent the milk from being oxidized due to mixing with bubbles.

Reference signs:—air-return valve;—air gap;—valve lip portion;—third rounded corner;—valve neck;—first rounded corner;—valve disc;—lower concave surface;—second rounded corner;—support body;—air inlet;—fourth rounded corner;—air-return container;—mounting hole;—first edge;—second edge.

The technical solution in embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely discussed below with reference to the drawings of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiment merely is a part of embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which are on the basis of embodiments of the present invention, obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work, belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, the terms “longitudinal”, “transverse”, “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom” and the like indicate that the orientation or position relationship is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of explaining the present invention and does not require the present invention to be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore is not intended to limit the present invention. The terms “link” and “connect” used in the present invention should be interpreted broadly. For example, it can be a fixed connection or a detachable connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate component. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to specific circumstances.

Please refer to,is a schematic view of the structure of the air-return valve;is a cross-sectional view of the air-return valve along the length direction of the valve lip portion;is a cross-sectional view of the air-return valve along the direction perpendicular to the length direction of the valve lip portion;a schematic view of the connection of the air-return container. Among them,is a schematic view at the design period, and there is some interference. In practical use, the air-return valve will deform at the interference since it is capable of elastic deformation, and thus there is no interference in practical use.

As shown in, in one embodiment of the present invention, an air-return valveis provided, which is used to be mounted on a container to return air and compensate for the negative pressure in the container. Specifically, the air-return valveincludes a valve body and an air path formed along the axial direction of the valve body (the direction of the axis of the valve body). The valve body includes a valve lip portionand a valve body portion. The valve lip portionis located above the valve body portion. The air path passes through the valve body portion. The valve lip portionis provided with an air gapconnected to the air path. The air gapis closed when the interior of the container is under non-negative pressure. When the user causes negative pressure (pressure is less than atmospheric pressure) in the container through sucking or other actions, the air gap is opened, and the air path is communicated to the container to intake air. Wherein, the valve lip portionis a boss enclosed with a diaphragm, and the wall thickness of the valve lip portionis less than the wall thickness of the valve body portion. “Non-negative pressure” means that the pressure in the container is not less than the atmospheric pressure, and it may be the status that the pressure at the air-return valveis larger than the atmospheric pressure, e.g., the air-return valveis immersed in the liquid in the container and the total pressure of the liquid and gas within the container at the air-return valveis larger than the atmospheric pressure. It may also be the status that the pressure at the air-return valveis equal to the atmospheric pressure, e.g., (1) the air-return valveis immersed in the liquid in the container and the total pressure of the liquid and gas within the container at the air-return valveis equal to the atmospheric pressure (at this time, the pressure of the gas within the container is less than the atmospheric pressure, but the part of it which is less than the atmospheric pressure is just compensated by the pressure of the liquid), and (2) the air-return valvedoes not contact the liquid in the container and the gas pressure within the container is equal to the atmospheric pressure.

In this embodiment, when the air-return valveis mounted on the container, the valve body portion is fitted with the container wall, and the valve lip portionis positioned in the container. When returning air, the external gas enters into the container after the air gapis opened by the external gas which pass through the air path. When not returning air, the air gapis at a natural state (closed state), with function of unidirectional guide and communication. The valve lip portion is a boss enclosed with the diaphragm, and is raised above the valve body portion and subjected to the concentrated pressure, which can ensure the reliability of the seal and prevent the liquid leakage from the air gap. The wall thickness of the valve lip portionis smaller than that of the valve body portion, so that the action of the valve lip portion is sensitive and reliable when returning air and sealing.

As shown in, in one embodiment of the present invention, the outer contour area of the valve lip portionis smaller than that of the valve body portion, which can effectively reduce the volume ratio of the valve lip portionto the valve body portion, thereby reducing the possibility of liquid leakage at the air gap.

Further, in this embodiment, the outer contour area of the valve lip portionis 1/15 to ⅕ of that of the valve body portion, and most preferably is 1/10, which enables the valve lip portioneasy to act and prevent liquid leakage.

As shown in, in one embodiment of the present invention, a lower concave surfaceis provided on the top surface of the valve body portion, and the valve lip portionis positioned on the lower concave surface. Wherein, at the periphery, the lower concave surfacerises smoothly until it reaches and is connected with the top surface of the valve body portion. When the valve lip portionis immersed in liquid, the lower concave surfaceis subjected to the pressure from the periphery toward the center, and then tends to gather downward, so as to exert a force on the valve lip portion, thereby making the air gapon the valve lip portionto be closed more tightly, ensuring that no liquid leakage occurs at the air gap.

Further, in this embodiment, the wall thickness of the top surface of the valve body portion is reduced at the lower concave surface. When the lower concave surfaceis subjected to the liquid pressure, it tends to sink, which would exert a force gathering from the periphery toward the center on the valve lip portion, ensuring the reliability of the closure of the air gap.

Further, in this embodiment, the interface of the valve lip portionand the lower concave surfaceis the first edge. The first edgeis in a closed ring shape, which facilitates the valve body portion to transmit the force to the valve lip portion. It is noted that, in this embodiment, for the convenient manufacturing of the product, the first edgemay also be rounded, and the radius of the rounded corner is extremely small, such as 0.1 mm, 0.2 mm, etc., without departing from the scope of the embodiment.

As shown in, in one embodiment of the present invention, the air gapis in a straight linear shape, which is convenient for closing and opening. The air gapis opened at the top of the valve lip portionand is positioned on the symmetric plane of the valve lip portion, so that the forces on both sides of the air gapcould be balanced.

As shown in, in one embodiment of the present invention, the valve body portion includes a valve head and a valve neck, and the valve neckis positioned below the valve head. When in use, the valve head is used to carry the valve lip portion, and the valve neckis used to fit into the mounting holeon the container wall. Wherein, the outer contour area of the valve head is larger than that of the valve neckwhen projected along the axial direction of the valve body, so that the valve neckcan be squeezed into the mounting holeand the valve head can cover the top of the mounting holeto prevent liquid leakage therefrom.

Further, in this embodiment, a first rounded corneris provided at the outer peripheral edge of the top of the valve head, which is convenient for plugging the air-return valveinto the mounting holefor easy operation.

As shown in, in one embodiment of the present invention, a support bodyis also included. The support bodyis in the form of cylindrical shape and is used to support the valve neck. It provides a supporting function without hindering the gas flow of the air path. The axis of the support bodycoincides with the axis of the valve neck, and can provide uniform support force for the valve neckin the circumferential direction. The support bodymay be made of plastic material, such as PPSU (Polyphenylene Sulfone resins), which provides a supporting function on the inner wall of the valve body. The support bodymay also be made of rubber material, which is the same as that of the valve body. The valve body may be made of rubber material, such as silicone material, which is easy to elastically deform. When being mounded at the mounting hole, it can be squeezed between the support bodyand the mounting holeto avoid leakage. The support bodyis integrally formed with the valve body, and they are single component in structure and cannot be detached, which can reduce the number of components and facilitate carrying and storage.